Did the Spanish completely obliterate Aztec song and dance from the historical record?

ORIGINAL QUESTION received from - and thanks to - Carlos de la Riva: I am of the opinion that modern day Aztec dancing is not historically accurate. It seems too simplistic, and there is no singing. I find this odd given the fact that the Aztec were an extremely advanced society. In comparison Native American (Sioux, Cree) songs and dances seem much more intricate. Did the Spanish completely obliterate Aztec song and dance from the historical record? (Answered by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)

For an answer to your second question, please read our longer feature on the survival of pre-Hispanic dance forms in our Spanish Conquest section (link below). There you’ll discover that the answer is ‘No’, there are many instances of elements of pre-Columbian dance forms still existing today; it’s often a case of ‘peeling back’ the European skin to reveal the ancient ‘soul’ beneath. Moreover, though modern-day ‘Aztec’ dances (very likely you’re thinking of Concheros or Danza Azteca, so frequently visible today in the main Zócalo square of Mexico City) appear ‘simple’, there’s far more to them than meets the eye...

On the question of song survival, we consulted two members of our Panel of Experts who have kindly provided the following information:-

Dr. Susanna Rostas, Senior Research Associate in the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge and author of Carrying the Word: the Concheros Dance in Mexico City (Colorado University Press, 2011), writes: ‘The Concheros have plenty of [songs], many with a Catholic blend to them (after all Mexico has been Catholic for 500 years+). Some of these songs are sung at dances (not continuously like the playing of music) but at the beginning, at the end of a dance (or sometimes when it starts up again after eating). [However] there is a problem - oral traditions change through time and even if the songs were once in Nahuatl they are not today.’

The ultimate hybrid instrument: European guitar with Mexican armadillo shell soundbox (Click on image to enlarge)

Dr. Arnd Adje Both, Chair of the Music Archaeology Study Group of the International Council for Traditional Music, writes: ‘[Historically,] many Aztec dances are reported, which included song. This is not practiced today, the music is purely instrumental. Sometimes you hear shouts and cries, that’s all... Songs can only be heard among the “old-style” Concheros, especially in temple worship (the most important temple is in Mexico-Tlatelolco). The chants are accompanied with the concha (armadillo-shell-backed guitar) and rattles, but not with dance accompaniment.’

It appears that in the past traditional Concheros congregations have included (mainly Spanish Catholic) songs in their ceremonies, particularly when offering prayers, hymns and supplications inside churches (they would rhetorically ask the authorities’ permission to then proceed outside to perform in the atria). Ironically a few of these songs were translated into Náhuatl, even though Náhuatl-speakers have always been in a minority within Concheros troupes. One report says that the songs were usually sung by men and women together in parallel thirds, with high-pitched voices. Concheros dances provide a rare exception within the Mexican ‘native dance’ tradition in that men AND women (as well as young children) have always been initiated and welcomed, each with their own specific duties and roles within the congregation.

Picture sources:-• Main picture: photo by Xavier Miró/Mexicolore• Other photos by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.

2 At 2.41pm on Sunday June 8 2014, Christopher Garcia wrote:

AYOYOTES UPDATE

please visit the following link about ayoyoteshttp://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/ayoyotes.html

you will find images from the MAYAN CODEX DRESDENwith dancers wearing themand a drawing from Fray Diego Durans(1537–15880BOOK OF THE GODS AND RITESandTHE ANCIENT CALENDARof a dancer wearing them as wellbut still looking thru the MEXICA CODICESfor an image

1 At 4.27am on Thursday November 21 2013, Christopher Garcia wrote:

Actually there are still danzantes who sing before and while they dance. But these dances are not usually done for “performances”. There is a line in several danza communities drawn between “performance danza” and “ceremonial danza” . They are both very different.The few who know this information are very, very reluctant to share it, although they have shared it in private conversations. There are danzantes who can explain every move, every gesture of the hand, foot, eye, directions in which the dances are done etc and why it needs to be done that way.They know and live this information and see no reason to give it away. One time at a rehearsal an elder asked several of the dancers why they were not doing certain steps a certain way, and he went into great length in regards to every movement and what and why it represented. The majority of the dancers knew little to nothing of this information,i.e., they knew the basic steps and very little about the actual history, mythology and theology behind the movements.After the rehearsal I asked him why he did not share the information at first and his answer was the same answer my teachers from India used to give me. “If they wanted to know, they would have asked me,”, i.e., it made no sense to him to pontificate about this information and I was the only one who asked, i.e., a non dancer.Information is information and knowledge is knowledge the two do not always meet. Knowing about is not knowing, there are people who can tell you everything there is to know about drumming, and drummakers i.e., the names, types of wood, history etc., but that does not mean that they can play, or that their INTENTION moves anyone to dance or to laugh or to cry. INTENTION cannot be taught.Interestingly, there are no images of dancers wearing chachayotes (i.e. leg rattles) in the codices yet there are 9 different Spanish/Nahuatl dictionaries defining them within the first 60 years of the occupation. Why does this not exist in sculpture, paintings, or murals yet it is defined?There will be many more archaeological finds that have yet to be found that will show “another way”.

Mexicolore replies: Many thanks, Chris, for sharing this insightful and valuable information.